The pattern at a glance
- APA 7Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (ed.). Publisher.
- MLA 9Author, First. Title of Book. Edition, Publisher, Year.
- Chicago (notes-bibliography)Author, First. Title of Book. Edition. Publisher, Year.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right)Author, A. (Year) Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher.
Take the details from the title page, not the cover
Covers are designed to sell: they shorten subtitles, add slogans and sometimes print only a famous author's surname. The title page inside the book is the authoritative source for the title, the subtitle, the authors and editors, the edition and the publisher. The page behind it (the copyright page) gives the year and the ISBN.
Use the year of the edition you hold. A paperback reprint of a 2013 book may carry a later copyright year, and a revised edition has new content. The ISBN identifies the exact edition, which is why an ISBN lookup is a good start.
What ISBN records get wrong
Open Library and similar catalogues are built from many sources. The edition records for both examples below have no author, while the separate work record names Steven Pinker and Robin Wall Kimmerer. A lookup that reads only the edition record would leave the author blank, so the form asks you to check it.
Other common gaps are missing subtitles, missing places of publication and a print date that belongs to a later printing rather than the edition. Fix them in the form and the reference updates in every style.
Book citations side by side
- APA: year after the author, title in sentence case and italics, no place.
- MLA: full first name, title case, publisher then year, no place.
- Chicago 18: like MLA in the bibliography, with publication facts in parentheses in footnotes.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right): year in parentheses, italic sentence-case title, edition as "2nd edn", place and publisher.
- IEEE and AMA: initials (IEEE) or initials without periods (AMA), with numbered references.
Special cases: translations, editions and multivolume works
Translated books name the translator after the title in MLA and Chicago (Translated by) and in parentheses in APA (Trans.). If you read a classic in translation, cite the translation you used, because page numbers and wording differ between translations.
Revised and numbered editions are cited with the edition after the title. A reprint that only changes the cover is not a new edition, but the year of your printing still identifies your copy in most styles.
For a multivolume work, give the volume you used, either in the title area (Vol. 2) or in the in-text citation. When volumes have their own titles and editors, cite the individual volume.
Field by field: the book form
Fill these once and switch styles freely.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Authors | All authors, or the organization. | Title page. |
| Title | Title and subtitle. | Title page. |
| Edition | Only for second or later editions. | Title page or copyright page. |
| Publisher | Publisher name. | Title page. |
| Place | City of publication, used by Harvard and IEEE. | Title page or copyright page. |
| Year | Year of your edition. | Copyright page. |
| ISBN | For lookup. | Back cover or copyright page. |
Book citation examples in four styles
Two books looked up by ISBN and formatted by the engine in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and Harvard.
Book with a long subtitle
APA 7th: Reference entry
Pinker, S. (2014). The sense of style: The thinking person’s guide to writing in the 21st century. Viking.
In-text citation: (Pinker, 2014)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
Pinker, Steven. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century. Viking, 2014.
In-text citation: (Pinker)
Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): Reference entry
Pinker, Steven. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century. Viking, 2014.
First footnote: Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century (Viking, 2014).
Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.): Reference entry
Pinker, S. (2014) The sense of style: The thinking person’s guide to writing in the 21st century. New York: Viking.
In-text citation: (Pinker, 2014)
The Open Library edition record lists Viking, New York, 2014, but no author; the work record names Steven Pinker. Harvard is the only one of the four styles here that prints New York.
Checked against ISBN record (checked on 25 October 2026). Open Library edition record: Viking, New York, 2014. The edition record has no author; the work record names Steven Pinker.
Author with a three-part name
APA 7th: Reference entry
Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. Milkweed Editions.
In-text citation: (Kimmerer, 2013)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013.
In-text citation: (Kimmerer)
Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): Reference entry
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013.
First footnote: Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2013).
Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.): Reference entry
Kimmerer, R.W. (2013) Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. Milkweed Editions.
In-text citation: (Kimmerer, 2013)
Robin Wall Kimmerer becomes Kimmerer, R. W. in APA and Harvard. The place of publication was left empty because the ISBN record did not give one, so Harvard prints only the publisher.
Checked against ISBN record (checked on 25 October 2026). Open Library edition record: Milkweed Editions, 2013. The edition record has no author; the work record names Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Formatted by the same citation engine that runs the generator above (citeproc-js with the official CSL style file). Italics follow the style.
In-text citations for books
Add a page number whenever you quote or refer to a specific passage.
- APA 7: (Pinker, 2014, p. 29)
- MLA 9: (Kimmerer 48)
- Chicago notes: 1. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass (Milkweed Editions, 2013), 48.
- Harvard: (Pinker, 2014, p. 29)
Book citation mistakes
- Cover title instead of title page. Subtitles and editions are often missing from the cover.
- Wrong edition year. Cite the year of the edition you used.
- ISBN in the reference. Major styles do not print ISBNs; they are lookup aids.
- Blank author after lookup. Fill the author from the title page if the record has none.
Book citation FAQ
How do I cite a book with an ISBN?
Paste the ISBN into the generator, check the fields against the title page and choose your style. The ISBN itself does not appear in the citation.
How do I cite an ebook?
Cite it like the print book. Add a DOI if it has one, or the URL if you read it on a website.
How do I cite a book with no author?
Start with the title, or with the organization that produced it.
What if the ISBN is not found?
Some books, especially regional or older titles, are missing from Open Library. Choose Enter details manually and type the information from the title page.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.